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<title>no grave can hold my body down by sapphicsandseblos (solange_lol)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772466">no grave can hold my body down</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/solange_lol/pseuds/sapphicsandseblos'>sapphicsandseblos (solange_lol)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>dreaming like we'll live forever (but live it like it's now or never) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Pre-Relationship, Seblos, Study Buddies, everything is the same except seb is a ghost, ghost au, hsmtmts, seb was supposed to graduate in like 2011 but mentally and appearance wise hes 15-16 okay?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:01:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,664</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772466</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/solange_lol/pseuds/sapphicsandseblos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Once again, Carlos had been left partnerless, forced to do the lab on his own</p><p>That is, until a certain blonde-headed spirit appears in class next to him. </p><p>Like, <i>literally</i> appears.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>dreaming like we'll live forever (but live it like it's now or never) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951732</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>no grave can hold my body down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Carlos<em> dreads </em> lab days in physics.</p><p>It was every Friday, tacking the 45 minutes that would be his study hall onto his class. </p><p>And the assignments were <em> always </em> partner work. You would think after two years of having him in his class, Mr. Mazzara would begin to understand that Carlos doesn’t exactly have friends.</p><p>Well, he does have friends now. He has the people in the show. But most of them are in the grade above him. The ones that are in his grade, like Gina and Ashlyn, are in the honors class. (Why they chose to take <em> honors physics </em>of all classes is beyond him.)</p><p>Nevertheless, it leaves Carlos alone and, by default, partnerless for all of their lab assignments.</p><p>It was Halloween this particular Friday, and Carlos wanted nothing more than to just go home, change out of his Halloween sweater, (it was black with two skeletons dancing together) and into his costume, (he was dressing up as the little March of the Falsettos character from <em> Falsettos, </em>respectively,) for the cast Halloween party that Ashlyn was throwing. </p><p>Unfortunately, before he could do that, though, he had to face the living nightmare that was his physics lab.</p><p>He takes a seat in the front of the classroom, gathering his notebook and pen and just <em> hoping </em> that <em> someone </em> will feel bad enough for him that they invite him to their group. </p><p>Carlos is met with no such luck, though. When Mr. Mazzara calls for people to partner up, he’s once again left to do the lab on his own.</p><p>That is until another figure appears next to him.</p><p>Literally appears. The seat next to him that was once empty is now being occupied by a certain blonde-headed spirit.</p><p>Seb Matthew-Smith had been following Carlos around for a year now, ever since he choreographed their fall production of <em> High School Musical </em> his sophomore year. From what Carlos has gathered, it was in high school when they were filming the original movie. It was some accident in the theatre that… <em> you know </em>… and caused him to be cursed to the auditorium.</p><p>He also didn’t appear until Carlos showed up, leaving them technically the same age. (Where he was before he showed up, Carlos is still trying to figure that one out.)</p><p>“Need a hand?” the ghost asks, leaning forwards.</p><p>Carlos is still surprised to see him here. So far, he hasn’t been able to leave the auditorium. Most of their conversations have taken place before or after rehearsals, or any other time he’s been able to sneak out of class. </p><p>And yet, there he sits in Carlos’s physics class.</p><p>He’s about to ask how Seb even got here, before remembering he’s still technically in class. Talking to himself probably wouldn’t go over great with his peers.</p><p>Instead, he turns to his teacher. “Mr. Mazzara, can I go work in the hall?”</p><p>Thankfully, the lab they’re working on is about speed-conversions and requires them to walk and hop around, <em> (when are the people who make these things going to start making them with actual useful skills? If Carlos wanted to speed-walk, he wouldn’t be trying to skip gym every day, </em>) so Mr. Mazzara gives him the go-ahead.</p><p>He gathers his phone, lab sheet, and pencil case, before subtly motioning for Seb to follow him out of the classroom.</p><p>“How did you get over here?” he asks the boy, not even batting an eye when the door passes straight through him. “The science wing is like, <em> all </em> the way on the other side of the school from the theater.”</p><p>Seb shrugs. “You seemed distressed, so I just… left.”</p><p>That’s another thing that’s been happening. The more Carlos talks to Seb, especially about something he feels strong emotions about, the closer he feels to the ghost. Like, spiritually closer, as if their souls are beginning to connect in a way that he can’t quite put words to. (That is, if Seb still has a soul. Are ghosts just souls, or is it the souls leaving their body that makes them die?)</p><p>Either way, Seb has been able to sense a lot of Carlos’s emotions recently. He always knew exactly how Carlos feels about rehearsal, making him the perfect outlet for frustration if needed.</p><p>Although, recently, Carlos hasn’t been talking about rehearsal as much to Seb. Nowadays, he’s been more interested in Seb’s life— or, more accurately, what his life <em> was </em> back when he still had one of those. </p><p>He hasn’t been able to gather much so far, but he treasures what he has. Seb lived on a farm with seven siblings. They had cows and sheep. He went to East High and was set to graduate in 2011 before he died. He was in a few of the school productions, either in the show itself or as the piano accompanist. (Carlos made a mental note to look at some of the old yearbooks in the library.)</p><p>And Seb is gay. Not that it really mattered.</p><p>Carlos doesn’t know much else besides that. He has bits and pieces that don’t make sense together, but every time he brings them up, like how he died or more about his family, Seb gets really quiet and changes the subject.</p><p> On really bad days, Seb will just poof out completely and then come back 15 minutes later when he feels Carlos distressing. </p><p>It’s an odd little relationship, what the two of them have, but it works. And Carlos would do anything to help Seb feel alive again.</p><p>Even if that means crashing his physics lab.</p><p>“Looks like you need a little help with your lab,” he smiles, gesturing towards the papers in his hand.</p><p>Carlos rolls his eyes. “I could do it by myself, you know,” he defends.</p><p>Seb just raises his eyebrows, still smiling. (The kid almost never stops smiling. Even while dead, he looks livelier than Carlos.)</p><p>He sighs, continuing. “But… if you want to time me while I do the speed things, it would be helpful,” he admits. He holds out his phone towards the ghost, but just as Seb is about to take it, Carlos pulls back. “But keep it on the ground so it doesn’t look like it’s floating in midair. And don’t laugh at me!”</p><p>“I would never laugh at you,” Seb says, laughing.</p><p>He hesitates before handing his phone over again, this time allowing for the boy to take it. Luckily, it doesn’t pass right through his hands and drop on the floor like he was having trouble with the first time Carlos met him. All Carlos can hope is that nobody is watching him through the window on the classroom door.</p><p>“What do you have to do?” Seb asks, settling on the floor and leaning against the wall in the hallway. (Carlos has no idea how he can choose to go through some things and not go through others.)</p><p>He reads out the directions. “Hop 5 meters on one foot. Then do the same for 10m and 15m. Record your speed for each distance.” </p><p>Which won’t be mortifying at all to do alone, obviously, judging by Seb’s grin.</p><p>As Carlos measures out the distance with the yardstick Mr. Mazzara gave him, the ghost kept talking. “So what were you upset about, anyway?”</p><p>He sounds genuinely interested in helping, so Carlos explains his situation. “I don’t have any friends in this class, and we always have partner labs that I just end up doing alone.”</p><p>“Well, you’re not alone now,” Seb says. “We’re friends.”</p><p>“Yeah, not that anyone else knows,” Carlos laughs more to himself than to the spirit’s comment.</p><p>“Doesn’t matter who knows. Just matters that you have me,” Seb points out.</p><p>Carlos doesn’t respond. “Start the timer,” he says instead.</p><p>While he’s hopping down to the 5 meter mark, though, he can’t help and think about what Seb said. It was true, it didn’t really matter who knew about him. Although… it could be interesting if he <em> did </em> tell someone about the ghost from the theater. Perhaps Ashlyn would believe him.</p><p>The thought of his friend reminds him of their party later, then of what day it was, and a question sparks in his mind. He stops hopping. “Why are <em> you </em> here today, anyway?”</p><p>“Your speed was 3.14 seconds. And what do you mean? I told you already I came because you were upset.”</p><p>“Well, yeah, but today is Halloween. Shouldn’t you be out haunting people, or whatever ghosts do today.”</p><p>Seb’s face falls, and Carlos immediately regrets bringing anything up.</p><p>“I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but I don’t exactly have any ghost friends. I wouldn’t have anywhere to go even if I could leave the theater now on my own.”</p><p>“Oh, so that’s why you follow me around all the time,” Carlos teases, trying to lighten the mood so Seb doesn’t poof out.</p><p>“Well, that and because I like you,” he responds with the same tone, and Carlos is taken aback a little bit. (Never in his life did he think a ghost would be <em> flirting </em> with him on Halloween.) (At least, he <em> thinks </em> it’s flirting.) </p><p>They finish the rest of the lab in silence. He wishes there was a way to bring Seb around to places. His friends would love him if they could meet him. But there has to be a reason he’s the only one who can…</p><p>“Wanna come to our Halloween party?” he asks when they finish up, more as a joke but hoping that maybe Seb would consider. (He at least would have an escape if anything happened that left him isolated tonight.) “You would make a great sheet ghost.”</p><p>“I don’t think I can voluntarily go places.”</p><p>“Well, then, maybe I’ll have a panic attack just to summon you.”</p><p>“No,” Seb hands Carlos his phone, leading him to the door. “Enjoy tonight. I’ll be here to hear about it tomorrow.”</p><p>And with that, he poofs out, leaving Carlos to enter his classroom alone again. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>happy halloween! im weak for school centered fics! also i got this idea in physics when i was doing a lab by myself and thinking about julie and the phantoms</p><p>i have some more ideas to continue this little ghost au sooo let me know if u liked it and maybe we'll keep goin w this [insert eyes looking sidways emoji]</p><p>im on twitter @SE3LOS and tumblr @klaineiac !! :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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